Elder homicide: a 20-year study

A subcategory of elder maltreatment is the fatal outcome, or elder homicide. Some cases of elder homicide result from chronic abuse and/or neglect, while others appear to be sudden, with no pertinent history. The research and literature of elder homicide are lacking, making the investigation of each case difficult; the typical victim, perpetrator, scenario, and cause of death are not known. Components of homicide such as sexual assault and toxicology also lack study. We analyzed all elder deaths over a 20-year period. Cases included those with victims greater than or equal to 65 years of age. These deaths totaled 2137: natural = 1506, accident = 344, suicide = 139, homicide = 127, and undetermined = 21. Focusing on homicides, variables analyzed were age, race, gender, cause of death, location of death, time of year, motive, perpetrator, toxicology, and sexual assault component. By identifying the typical victim, perpetrator, scenario, and autopsy findings, these cases can be more completely investigated and possibly prevented.     

Life Constraints and Psychological Well-Being of Domestic Violence Shelter Graduates

Psychosocial adjustment and life constraints of 81 domestic violence shelter graduates were examined via field interviews in the community, assessing womens current life status, satisfaction with core life domains, and violence experience, pre- and post-shelter. Psychometric scales for depression and trauma symptoms were also administered. Participants had received extensive services in either an emergency or a transitional living shelter. Although fairly satisfied across life domains, many had serious post-shelter financial hardships. Most importantly, they reported remarkably little post-shelter violence exposure, either within or outside of romantic relationships. Despite now living independently, 43% and 75% reported clinical levels of depression and trauma symptoms, respectively. In hierarchical stepwise regressions, depression was related to womens childhood sexual abuse, dissatisfaction with housing and their own parenting, and experience of financial difficulties conjoined with public assistance. Trauma symptoms were associated with childhood sexual abuse and post-shelter financial difficulties. The impaired psychosocial functioning and life difficulties of these predominantly successful domestic violence survivors highlights the need for specialized shelter intervention and continuity of care in the community.     

Psychological Distress of Children and Mothers in Domestic Violence Emergency Shelters

Abused mothers and their school-aged children who recently entered domestic violence emergency shelters were assessed by individual interview and psychometric measures. Children had positiveviews of the shelter residence. Mothers and children reported high-quality relationships with eachother. Children came from highly violent homes, and the majority had attempted to intervene in theinteradult violence. Hierarchical multiple regressions were conducted on child PTSD symptoms, child behavior problems, and maternal depression, anxiety, and anger. Child PTSD symptoms were associated with amount of physical violence. Child behavioral problems were related to mother anxiety andanger. The predictors of maternal emotional distress varied. Depression was associated with sexualabuse, child physical intervention, and quality of mother–child relationship; anxiety was related to witnessing child abuse, child age, and child internalizing behaviors; anger was associated with abuse-related injuries, violence frequency, and child internalizing behaviors. Augmentationof shelter-based interventions for children's trauma, maternal emotional distress, and parenting are discussed.     

Aqueous Fluid as a Viable Substitute for Vitreous Fluid in Postmortem Chemistry Analysis

Vitreous fluid sampling for postmortem chemistry analysis is discouraged in pediatric forensic cases involving head trauma due to the risk of introducing retinal artifacts. Aqueous fluid is physically separated from the posterior chamber of the eye, and therefore, unlikely to produce vitreal artifact when sampled. Analysis of aqueous fluid is therefore proposed as a substitute for vitreous. Vitreous and aqueous fluid was sampled concurrently from 28 pediatric and 55 adult decedents, and sodium (Na), potassium (K), chloride (Cl), urea nitrogen (UN), creatinine (Cr), and glucose (Glc) concentrations were compared. Significant correlation existed between all analytes regardless of age or postmortem interval, and linear regression equations were derived. Aqueous concentrations were generally higher than vitreous for Na, K, and Cr and were marginally lower for Cl, UN, and Glc. Assuming vitreous fluid as a standard for correlating postmortem chemistry to antemortem serum values, aqueous may be a viable substitute for vitreous when expected differences are considered.     

Fast Discrimination of Marijuana using Automated High-throughput Cannabis Sample Preparation and Analysis by Gas Chromatography–Mass Spectrometry

In the United States, federal law and many state laws differentiate between marijuana and industrial hemp through delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels, whereby the latter is defined as ≤0.3 percent THC on a dry weight basis. Many traditional cannabis identification methods employed by crime laboratories cannot accurately determine total THC quantities in accordance with federal and state regulations, or do so with increased time, labor, and risks of instrument damage. In order to quickly distinguish positive marijuana samples, a method was developed to identify plant material with a total THC level >1%. This novel, automated dispersive pipette extraction (DPX) method uses tip-based technology and an automated liquid handler to enable fast, hands-free selective isolation of THC and its precursors for downstream gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analysis. The workflow proceeds with no repetitive manual effort and reduced need for instrument maintenance while enabling crime labs to legally identify marijuana through the detection of total THC above 1%. Recovery of THC using the DPX extraction method was 93% at 30 µg/mL and 78% at 500 µg/mL. Similarly, THCA-A recovery was 100% at 30 µg/mL and 74% at 500 µg/mL. Samples evaluated in a blind study (proficiency, hemp, and nonprobative case samples) were all accurately identified as greater than or less than 1% THC, with samples containing <1% THC being identified as “cannabis” and subjected to more discriminative analysis as needed.     

Youth Pathways to Placement: The Influence of Gender, Mental Health Need and Trauma on Confinement in the Juvenile Justice System

Although the juvenile crime rate has generally declined, the involvement of girls in the juvenile justice system has been increasing. Possible explanations for this gender difference include the impact of exposure to trauma and mental health needs on developmental pathways and the resulting influence of youth’s involvement in the justice system. This study examined the influence of gender, mental health needs and trauma on the risk of out-of-home placement for juvenile offenders. The sample included youth referred to three urban juvenile probation departments in Texas between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2008 and who received state-mandated mental health screening (N = 34,222; 30.1 % female). The analysis revealed that, for both genders, elevated scores on the seven factor-analytically derived subscales of a mental health screening instrument (Alcohol and Drug Use, Depressed-Anxious, Somatic Complaints, Suicidal Ideation, Thought Disturbance, and Traumatic Experiences), especially related to past traumatic experiences, influenced how deeply juveniles penetrated the system. The findings suggest that additional research is needed to determine the effectiveness of trauma interventions and the implementation of trauma informed systems for youth involved with the juvenile justice system.     

In Brief

Margaret Cavendish, The Convent of Pleasure and Other Plays, edited by Anne Shaver (Baltimore and London: The Johns Hopkins UP, 1999).

Rising Star: Dandyism, Gender, and Performance in the Fin de Siècle, by Rhonda Garelick (Princeton: Princeton U P, 1998).

Television, History, and American Culture: Feminist Critical Essays, edited by Mary Beth Haralovich, and Lauren Rabinovitz (Durham and London: Duke UP, 1999).

Soft Canons: American Women Writers and Masculine Traditions, edited by Karen L. Kilcup (Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 1999).

The Suppression of Salt of the Earth: How Hollywood, Big Labor, and Politicians Blacklisted A Movie in Cold War America, by James J. Lorence (Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P, 1999).

Working Hard and Making Do: Surviving in Small Town America, by Margaret K. Nelson, and Joan Smith (Berkeley: U of California P, 1999).

Women's Reading in Britain: A Dangerous Recreation, by Jacqueline. Pearson (Cambridge: Cambridge U P, 1999).

Regine Pernoud, and Marie‐Veronique Clin, Joan of Arc: Her Story, revised and trans, by Jeremy duQuesnay Adams (New York: St. Martin's P, 1999).

Design and Feminism: Re‐Visioning Spaces, Places, and Everyday Things, edited by Joan Rothschild (New Brunswick: Rutgers U P, 1999).

Feminism and Cultural Studies, edited by Morag Schiach (Oxford: Oxford U P, 1999).

Southern Mothers: Fact and Fictions in Southern Women's Writing, edited by Nagueyalti Warren, and Sally Wolff (Baton Rouge: Louisiana State UP, 1999).     

The Rise and Fall of Depressive Symptoms and Academic Stress in Two Samples of University Students

Self-reported depressive experiences are common among university students. However, most studies assessing depression in university students are cross-sectional, limiting our understanding of when in the academic year risk for depression is greatest and when interventions may be most needed. We examined within-person change in depressive symptoms from September to April. Study 1 (N?=?198; 57% female; 72% white; Mage?=?18.4): Depressive symptoms rose from September, peaked in December, and fell across the second semester. The rise in depressive symptoms was associated with higher perceived stress in December. Study 2 (N?=?267; 78.7% female; 67.87% white; Mage?=?21.25): Depressive symptoms peaked in December and covaried within persons with perceived stress and academic demands. The results have implications for understanding when and for whom there is increased risk for depressive experiences among university students.